Health « Thurles Information

69 New Covid-19 Cases Confirmed On St. Patrick’s Day

With the Coronavirus death toll sadly rising in Italy to 2,503, a further 69 new coronavirus (Covid-19) cases have been confirmed in the Irish Republic, this St. Patrick’s Day 2020; bringing our overall number of effected cases to 292.

A further 10 cases have been confirmed in Northern Ireland, bringing their total there to 62. Thus, overall on our green island there are now 354 cases and rising, with large volumes of individuals waiting to get tested.

We understand that Irish Cabinet Ministers held an incorporeal meeting this evening, designed to sign off on emergency regulations to deal with the present Covid-19 crisis.

We understand amongst these welcome measures is legislation which would allow people to be detained on foot of medical recommendations, if they have been affected by the coronavirus (Covid-19) and are refusing to self-isolate.

We understand these new measures will give the Government the legal power to shut down large gatherings and will give effect to special welfare payments, for those who are unable to work as a result of the need to comply with the public health authority’s immediate requirement.

These regulations; build on already introduced legislation back in 1948; latter designed to fight the spread of infectious diseases, e.g. tuberculosis (TB), then also a major public health problem of that particular era.

Tuberculosis used to be much more common here in Ireland, with nearly 7000 cases a year identified, back in the early 1950’s. It would be the highly controversial public representative, Waterford born, medical intern Dr. Noel Christopher Browne, then acting Minister for Health who would introduce free mass screening for tuberculosis sufferers and launch a huge construction program, to erect new hospitals and sanitoria. His efforts also coincided with the development of a new vaccine and new drugs, e.g. BCG and Penicillin; which would help to cure this previously untreatable medical condition.

This current emergency legislation is expected to be passed, by our current caretaker government, during a Dáil sitting convened for Thursday afternoon next.

Thurles Parish Mass Now Live-Streamed Direct On This Website

Another 40 new cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in the Republic of Ireland today. This brings the total number of those affected to 169 persons in the Republic and 214 on the whole island of Ireland, after Northern Ireland increased their numbers by 11 persons, thus bringing their total to 45.

Readers of Thurles.info can now click on our top header image to obtain basic advice from the Health Service Executive (HSE), same advice being in line with the strategy followed by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).

Unconfirmed reports, tonight, indicate that further measures to halt the spread of Covid-19, here in the Republic of Ireland, will be introduced by our caretaker government, sometime tomorrow.

Daily Thurles Mass Livestream

In light of the fact that it has become necessary to cancel both weekend and daily Masses here in Thurles and indeed countywide; same in order to comply with the public health authority’s immediate requirement [i.e No more than 100 people permitted to gather indoors in both town and country churches across the Archdiocese]; a new Daily Thurles Mass Livestream link has been posted in a widget (See Top Right Hand Side) on the Thurles.info website

Our Thurles Parish Mass being live-streamed this morning, regrettably ran into some problems, when a very large numbers of our Christian faithful attempted to log-on, all at the same time. To avoid this happening into the future, a direct link can now be accessed direct from this website.

Websites to Keep Kids Entertained & Learning at Home

Five Great Websites to Keep Your Kids Entertained and Learning at Home.

Until March 29th next, schools are closed due to the coronavirus [Covid 19] pandemic and with playgrounds and play dates now clearly out of bounds, many parents are searching for ways to keep their kids entertained and learning at home.

Here are five great websites that offer free access to pupils and their parents during these unprecedented times.

(1) Starfall – Literacy and Numeracy for Little Ones.

www.starfall.com is an excellent website for children ages 2 – 7 years. It provides free access to a host of games, songs and interactives that support learning to read, write, spell and understand numbers.
For more information on the website and its associated apps for iPhone and Android visit https://store.starfall.com/app-catalog

(2) Brainpop – The Next Best Thing to an Actual Teacher.

If you are not familiar with the suite of websites and apps offered by Brainpop, you are in for a treat (and even Mum and Dad might learn a thing or two).
BrainPop Junior and BrainPop provide educational videos that explain and explore topics spanning all curriculum subjects. BrainPop is normally a subscription website, but they are offering free access to schools and pupils affected by coronavirus. For more information visit https://jr.brainpop.com/ and www.brainpop.com.

(3) GoNoodle – Keeping Kids Moving and Mindful at Home.

With sport teams, swimming and playgrounds out of action for the next few weeks, keeping kids active indoors is more important than ever. GoNoodle is one option! It aims at getting kids active, moving and mindful with a wide range of dances, games, rhymes, raps and general silliness that will appeal to kids of all ages, interests, skills, and abilities. So check out link https://www.gonoodle.com/

(4) Twinkl – Thousands of worksheets for Kids

If you are sick of screen time and looking for paper-based activities for your kids, then log on to www.twinkl.ie. Twinkl provides thousands of worksheets and activities for every age group and based on every aspect of the curriculum. They have even created ‘School Closure Packs’ to help children during this period of school closure and they are offering all parents a one month FREE Ultimate Membership to Twinkl.ie. Setting this up is really easy to do – go to www.twinkl.ie/offer and enter into the Offer Code Box IRLTWINKLHELPS.

(5) Epic! – A Library on your Laptop and iPad

With libraries closed, www.getepic.com provides access to an unlimited library of thousands of children’s books for all ages, both fiction and non-fiction. If you visit Epic! or download their app Epic! you can get a 30 day free trial.

Covid 19 Vaccine Close To Being Developed

A vaccine for the pandemic caused by the coronavirus [Covid 19] is on the verge of being developed, a team of scientists have confirmed.

A team of researchers, led by Mucosal Infection and Immunity Chief Dr. Robin Shattock, believes they have successfully trialled a vaccine tested on mice and are now hopeful it could be ready for human trials as early as June of this year.

Senior researcher Dr. Paul McKay, of Imperial College London, has stated that he has obtained results from a month after he injected mice and is claiming that the vaccine “works really, really well”.

The team is working with scientists in Paris to determine the vaccine’s effectiveness on monkeys and have applied for further funding from the Medical Research Council to conduct human clinical trials.

Meanwhile, see linked here a very fine down to earth published article from former Tipperary & Sarsfield Senior Hurler Mr Ger Redser O’Grady, which possibly offers clearer advice than what is coming currently from Ireland’s health officials.

“Do not go for pints. Do not have a house party. Do not go to a house party. Do not go for coffee. Do not go for a meal. Do not go for a chat. Do not visit your auntie. Do not visit your parents. Do not bring the kids over to their friends. Do not let friends come over to you. If you absolutely have to get out of the house, go for a walk.”

Numbers Attending Cultural Institutions & Public Gatherings Curtailed Due To Covid-19

As stated in our previous blog; caretaker Taoiseach Mr Leo Varadkar has announced that the country’s schools, colleges and childcare facilities are to close in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, with effect from this evening.

From 6:00pm today, schools, colleges and childcare facilities will immediately close.

Rules regarding public gatherings
In relation to cultural institutions, indoor gatherings of more than 100 people and a maximum outdoor gathering of more than 500 people will be permitted. The restrictions will stay in place until March 29th 2020.

To this end Thurles.Info have been contacted by Inch Players, to confirm that they have postponed their play scheduled for this coming weekend, due to the escalation of this pandemic .

Workforce requested to work remotely, where possible:
Where it is possible to work remotely, people are requested to do so, thus requiring employers, the public and business interests to take a sensible approach to coronavirus.

Mr Varadkar made the announcement in Washington DC, where he is visiting as part of the annual St.Patrick’s Day celebrations, latter which has been sensibly cancelled in light of the spreading virus.